FTK Students' Performance in Mathematics: Comparison between SPM and First Year Exam

Abstract

In the last 20 years, mathematics teaching and learning encounters quite a big problem, especially at the tertiary level. The main concern always surrounds the students' achievement in the subject matter. Students' performance in mathematics at first year is reflected by the students' mathematical background prior to the admittance into the university. The study examined 165 first year students in the Faculty of Engineering Technology (FTK) who took the Mathematics Competency test upon entering the university at the beginning of their first semester. A test consisted of 40 fundamental mathematical questions which students have learned them before. From the result, 84% of these students failed this test. However, looking at their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) mathematics result during Form Five (12th grade) in school, the majority did quite well in that exam. These students also took a first year mathematics course which is Technical Mathematics at the same semester. At the end of the semester, the result of their Technical Mathematics course seemed to be quite good. The performance of these three mathematics results was being compared and studied.